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THE GARDEN OF UNREST 

A SECOND BOOK 
OF VERSE 



BY 

GEORGE W. HARRINGTON 

Author of "A Reversion of Form," *' Beyond 
the Twilight," etc. 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 

1912 



Copyright, 1912 
Sherman, French 6" Company 



©CLA328385 



TO 

MISS MARIETTE CARR 

A FRIEND OF FAITHFUL AND SELFLESS INTENT 

WHOSE DEVOTED LOVE AND UNFAILING 

SYMPATHY HAVE ENCOURAGED 

THE AUTHOR FOR MANY YEARS 

THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED 



The author wishes to ac- 
knowledge his great indebted- 
ness, in the preparation of this 
book, to Prescott Hartford 
Belknap, Esq., whose patience, 
taste and skill have been of un- 
told benefit. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

A GIFT OF MEMORY 1 

THE QUEEN OF GREAT WATERS .... 2 

IN THE SHADOW 3 

TWO WORLDS * 

VAGABOND PHILOSOPHY . 6 

FRIENDSHIP 8 

A WISH 9 

THE COAST CLIMATE OF NEW ENGLAND . 10 

BABY'S GREETING H 

THE FRIENDS OF YOUTH 12 

BEDTIME 1^ 

DAY AND NIGHT 14 

PUTTING IT OFF 15 

NOT THE HIGHEST TYPE, BUT— .... 16 

THE BROTHER'S NEED 17 

FAITH AND PURPOSE 18 

WHEN THE DAY IS NEW 19 

IN ACCORD 20 

WATCHING AND WAITING 21 

BEWARE ^2 

WHEN THE DAY IS DONE 23 

THE BURDEN, THE ROAD AND—? .... 24 

IN YOUTH 25 

THE LONG, LONG DAY 26 

A P.EAN OF THANKSGIVING 27 

REMEMBER 28 

FACING THE EAST 30 

TO-NIGHT 31 

A BETTER DAY 32 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

TAKE HEED 33 

MAGIC 34 

THE REWARD 35 

DAWN 37 

STORM AND CALM 38 

THE PRECIOUS DAYS OF YORE 39 

WINTER'S END 40 

THE FAITH WE NEED 41 

BLESSINGS OF THE DAY 42 

THE MARCH OF AGE 43 

LIFE'S MOMENT 44 

WHERE PEACE ABIDES 45 

WASTE? 46 

SLEEP .... * 47 

BETTER NOT 48 

THE EPISODE OF LIFE 49 

THE STRANGERS 50 

THE WORK UNDONE 51 

A MESSAGE TO THE FORTUNATE . . . .53 

THE OTHERS 53 

FAITH 54 

TWO VIEWS 55 

LIFE'S CLOUDED DAY 56 

THE REVISITATION 57 

IDLE WISHES 58 

THE DAWN OF A CITY DAY 60 

THE CALL OF TOIL 61 

AS WE SHOULD LOOK 62 

ABIDING THINGS 63 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE ANSWER 64 

AMBITION 65 

TOWARD BETTER LIGHT 66 

TEMERITY 67 

IN DOUBT 68 

WINTER THOUGHTS 69 

A FEW YEARS MORE 70 

USEFULNESS 71 

EQUITY 72 

THE WELCOME CHANGE 73 

THE BETTER WAY 74 

A LOWLY PRAYER 75 

THE CHILD 76 

A BENEFIT OF NIGHT 77 

DIURNAL BOUNTY 78 



A GIFT OF MEMORY 

There's a peaceful little valley 

In a country far away, 
Where the sunbeams love to sally, 

Making glad the light of day, 
Where the flowers and shrubs are sweeter 
And the winding road is neater 

Than is known in places gay. 

When I'm weary, sad, uncertain, 
And life seems a losing fight, 

Back of time's obscuring curtain 

Smiles a landscape dear to sight — 

Yes, a warm and scented valley. 

Far from chimney, eaves and alley. 
And it fills me with delight. 



[1] 



THE QUEEN OF GREAT WATERS 

A SHIP is sailing o'er the sea; 

Her name is Opportunity. 

She docks at ports both far and near, 

She's going there, she's coming here. 

She has no printed sailing-list. 

But ploughs her way through storm and mist 

At His behest whose word controls 

Both men of sea and land-bound souls. 

A priceless cargo carries she. 

This good ship. Opportunity. 



[2] 



IN THE SHADOW 

I WOULD that I might know 

The origin 
Of this vague, haunting sense 

Of having been 
A part of Hfe removed 

From us of now — 
Far, shadowed, eons past 

(I know not how). 

Intruding on the task 

Of every day 
It thrusts itself, nor will 

It turn away, 
Though ever I'd deny 

Its pressing claims : 
It seems to jeer at zeal. 

And gibe at aims. 



[3] 



TWO WORLDS 



I SAW the children playing in the brook, 

I stood by them and heard their eager words, 

I tried to join their makebelieve — 

The makebelieve of happy childhood's hour ; 

But I a stranger stood, as stranger spoke, 

An alien, from a realm removed. 

Removed by some wide space, unbridged. 

I could not be, alas, as they — 

One with the bubbling springs of Life. 

II 

Back to my home I went. 
Thinking and sad the while; 
And there I sat me down 
To probe and meditate. 



[4] 



Ill 

Pondering alone, while mutely the daylight died, 

I looked into my life and pain crept in. 

Then from an old and long-forsaken box 

I took some relics of another day, 

Some keepsakes, idle tokens now. 

Mementos of a fairer time ; 

And dreamily I felt, with weary hands. 

And mistily I saw, with world-worn eyes. 

The gifts, the treasures, once so much-beloved — 

A changeling's gems. 

— Ere long a light had dawned on me. 

And tenderly and ling'ringly I laid aside 

The sweet possessions of a stranger-child. 



[5] 



VAGABOND PHILOSOPHY 

Say! some folks seems ter like ter work 

I wish I did. 
Don't seem ter be no trouble 'tall 
Ter lift the lid ; 
An' then the "do-it-now's" on tap. 
I'd never give er dog-on rap 
If work had slid. 

I like ter set an' fish an' smoke 

My jimmy pipe. 
If fish is scurse, I set an' think; — 
Guess I don't wipe 
No tears er sorrer from my eye, 
Nor I don't worry 'bout mince pie 
When apples's ripe. 

S'pose I must be er lazy cuss — 

I guess I be. 
Ambition fidgets some folks up — 
It don't tech me. 
I watch the clouds, the noddin' trees. 
And listen ter the birds an' bees — 
Jest hear an' see! 



[6] 



Yer say I won't git nothin' done? 

No, mebbe not. 

But some who work an' fuss an' fume 

Don't do er lot. 

An' what er pile er fun they miss ! 

While I set still er knowin' this — 

I don't git hot! 

If life was meant fer hustlin' hard, 

Seems kinder queer 
So many sweet an' pleasant things 
Was put so near; 
Where eyes an' ears was bound ter find 
When haste an' fret is put behind 
There's comfort here. 



[1] 



FRIENDSHIP 

Sweet as the fragrance of the Summer night, 
Fresh as the morning cool with sparkling 

dew, 
Good as the knowledge that our lives are 

right — 

Dear is the nearness of the friendly few; — 

I 

High as the mountain's lofty, snow-crowned 

peak. 

Pure as the crystal of the highland spring: 

Yes, all of this would selfless friendship seek — 

And finds. Comes even more on Friendship's 

wing. 



[8] 



A WISH 

May you find to-day, Dear Heart, 

Cheer that friends in friendship give; 
May the cold and clouds take flight. 
May your hours be free from blight- 
May it prove a boon to live. 



[9] 



THE COAST CLIMATE OF NEW 
ENGLAND 

It may not rain to-day, 

It may not snow; 
It may not hail to-day, 
It may not blow; 

But pray don't ask me whether 
A change there'll be of weather. 
For this is altogether 
Too much to know. 

It may freeze everything, 

Or thaw, perhaps ; 
It may be dour, or bring 
Frost bite and chaps. 

Yes, maybe it's a blessing 
That climates are distressing. 
I'm never good at guessing 
On weather traps. 



[10] 



BABY'S GREETING 

A LITTLE fairy leading 

From man's hard world away, 
A ready "victim" heeding 

Whate'er the sprite may say! 

Yes, these with fond caresses 
The closest love proclaim, 

And naught the child represses 
While babbling "daddy's" name. 

There is no sweeter meeting 

For these, from dawn to dark — 

When baby lisps his greeting 
The angels seem to hark. 



[11] 



THE FRIENDS OF YOUTH 

Where are the friends who loved me, 

When my world was fresh and fair? 
Where are the friends who sought me, 

When wishing their gifts to share? 
Where are the friends who told me 

The little man has to tell? 
Trifles that seemed important 

In part that they loved me well. 

Gone are these friends who knew me, 

Though little we thought to part; 
Deep in the bourne of silence. 

Afar from my yearning heart. 
Never the seas shall bring them 

And never the hills return — 
Yes, in my breast encloistered 

The candles and incense burn. 



[12] 



BEDTIME 

If only I might feel to-night 

That I had been of worth to-day, 

Then would I know a goodly right 
To wend kind slumber's gentle way. 



[13] 



DAY AND NIGHT 

Ye tell me that the business day is real, 

With all its toil and plot and strife, 

With all its greed and petty gain and waste — 

With all its calculated march 

Of motley, mercenary ranks ; — 

Forsooth! a brave array, 

This boastful, soiled, blaspheming mob! 

For those who weary are and sore oppressed 
There is a better, more befitting hour, 
A closer, dearer and more perfect hour, 
And far, far nearer to the flawless All. 

Thou hast no fault, O gracious Night; 

Fair-curtained, soft, mysterious Night: 

For in thy hour intimate 

We touch the far, far land beyond the Sea, 

Beyond the troubled Deep of Death, 

And ken the forms we loved — and faces, 

Faces which in days agone did seem to make 

Of earth well-nigh a Paradise — 

In the long ago, before the heart was cold — 

And we hear the earth-lost voices. 

Speaking as from the stars of Heaven : 

And we know that it is real — 

In this vast hour, teeming and luminous, 

In this vast, voiceful hour of Night. 

[14] 



PUTTING IT OFF 

'Tis so easy to say, 

In the strength of to-day : 

"I'll do it to-morrow :" 
'Tis so easy to take 
For our prodigal sake 

The time we would borrow : — 
But Time is a tyrant, sure of his own; 
A lien on your work he takes with the loan 
His basis of trade is "bread for a stone:" — 
And he owns "To-morrow." 



[15] 



NOT THE HIGHEST TYPE, BUT— 

There are men who never take a drink 

And men who never swear, 
There are men who have no thought to shrink 

And anything might dare. 
There are men who always are polite 

And brave and calm and true, 
But commend me to the ready knight, 
The helpful fellow who — 
Has a smile 
All the while. 
Who is really glad to see one; 
Who is really glad to be one 
Of the few 
Who can do 
A fellow lots of good 
When he's "blue." 



[16] 



THE BROTHER'S NEED 

"Better 'tis to give than to receive," 
Better always sow than always reap, 

Better far to succor than achieve; — 

Stress and danger mark Life's storm-swept 
deep. 



[17] 



FAITH AND PURPOSE 

Here not to play, 

Here not for gain, 
Here not to stay, 
Here not in vain; 
Living in preparation — 
Quick in Divine relation — 
Trusting God's way. 



[18] 



WHEN THE DAY IS NEW 

Fain would I make this tender morn 
The prelude to a day of cheer, 

A day of work and hope and love- 
Illumined by the Light above — 
A day of help to comrades dear, 
A day of inspiration born. 



[19] 



IN ACCORD 

Happy the man who is with Life content ; 

Serene, full-faithed, he treads the paths of 
peace, 
Believing trials and joys with purpose sent: — 

The end were more to him than mere release. 



[20] 



WATCHING AND WAITING 

The mystery of beauty 

And the mystery of blight, 
The mystery of duty 

And the mystery of right. 
The mystery of striving 

And the mystery of pain, 
While man from much contriving 

Turns to labor — ^done in vain ! — 

The mystery of being — 

From the darkness to the day — 
The mystery of seeing 

Earth's conditions break and slay. 
The mystery of laughter 

And the mystery of tears — 
What then is coming after 

All the long-insistent fears? 

The mystery of motion 

And the mystery of sound, 
The mystery of potion — 

Can we choose when Fate has bound? 
The mystery of sleeping 

Whilst the wailing doth appal — 
The wond'ring and the weeping 

At the awfulness of all! 



[21] 



BEWARE 

In the episode of life 

There is more than praise or gain, 
Else the burden and the strife 

And the sorrow are in vain. 



[22] 



WHEN THE DAY IS DONE 

Fain would I make this night serene 
A boon to body, brain and heart, 

A precious season — mine to glean 
Lessons, that I may do my part 

Better when morrow's strife is keen 
'Mongst brother-toilers in the mart. 



[23] 



THE BURDEN, THE ROAD AND—? 

Heavy the burden of the toilsome years, 
Life's vista reaches far, it seems, ahead; 

Nor can we rest, for pressure of our fears — 
We follow, where the now departed led. 

There is no news, there is no pasan clear ; 

There is no stirring action, no repose ; 
We list' in vain for vict'ry's vibrant cheer ; 

The drifting mists no beacon-lights disclose. 

Yet must we tread the strewn and blood-stained 
way; 
Yet must we bear the load by pilgrims 
borne ; 
Yet must we watch, lest faltering we stray — 
And patiently await the Unknown Morn. 



[24] 



IN YOUTH 

In golden days of long ago, 

When happy was the youthful heart 
And young the world outspread before, 
Hope's ocean murmured to the shore — 
The sunny shore of realm apart 
From lands that men and women know. 



[25] 



THE LONG, LONG DAY 

A FEELING deep within 

Doth whisper of a day 
So real, and close as kin! 

Though eons wear away. 

There is no rose, or thorn. 

Near which mankind doth tread 

But traces from that bourne 
That once we knew, instead. 



[26] 



A P^AN OF THANKSGIVING 

Thank God for dawn, of promise dear, 

Thank God for morning, fresh and bright. 

Thank God for noontide, glad with cheer; 
But more than all, thank God for night. 



[27] 



REMEMBER 

Remember that as thou hast thought and 
planned, 

Then in the heat of day hast done some lesser 
thing — 

Perchance some churlish thing, or one untrue; 

Perchance some weak and foolish thing — 

Brothers of thine have likewise strayed to-day; 

While moved by good intent, by motive high. 

They found their better powers were over- 
borne : — 

The careless word of man is this: "They've 
failed, to-day." 

But have they failed? 
O God! if they have fought and toiled, 
And put aside temptation's honied sweets. 
And forced their minds through hellish 

thoughts. 
And driving wearied, worn-out bodies on. 
Have scaled the barriers prepared by Fate, 
And, mayhap, with a smile concealed their 

hurts ? — 
Because A Voice was calling, calling them, 
Because A Vision was before their eyes, 
And they would cease to heed earth's low com- 
mands. 

Remember that though thy strength to-day 
[28] 



Proved equal to the trial of circumstance, 
There was a day when it did not avail — 
That though no sin hath made thee slave to- 
day 
There was a time when struggles were in vain, 
A moment when the tide was all too strong. — 
Again, perchance, if some unlooked-for and ap- 
pealing lure 
Had laid both crafty and aggressive siege to 

thee. 
Mayhap thy strength would then have proved 
As power of man to parry lightning's thrust. 

I 

So be not proud, not yet exult, this day ; 
Nor condescendingly, with patronizing hand, 
Stroke the bowed head of those whose bloody 

sweat 
Has gone to swell the sum of world-wrung toll. 



[29] 



FACING THE EAST 

Don't over small things fret or grieve, 

Nor yet deplore the rest : 
Work hard, smile often — and believe — 
This life is but a test. 
Some day a better light may glow 
In some fair land where blessings flow- 
For those who've done their best. 



[30] 



TO-NIGHT 

I WISH that I could feel to-night 
Of all the things I've done to-day 

Some little thing has been of help 
To earthly wayfarers, astray. 

I wish that I could know to-night 
That love of mine for all of earth 

Had quickened one in sympathy 

Toward love complete, of perfect worth. 



[31] 



A BETTER DAY 

If all mankind should brothers help to-day, 
This day would be the best man ever knew — 

Thus clouds of sin and strife were blown 
away 
And every hour of life were pure as dew. 



[32] 



TAKE HEED 

Give not this day to gainful work alone, 
But dedicate some better thing to man — 
Remembering how short our earthly span : — 

Be not exultant, lest ye soon bemoan. 

Let not your day be spent in idle jest, 
Nor yet in empty pomp of vain display ; 
Be deaf to what the sland'rous throng may 
say: — 

Pray prove ye equal to Our Father's test. 



[33] 



MAGIC 

A LONELY white conceals offending scars; 

The light of yonder moon transforms the 
scene; 
Beneath those watchful, scintillating stars 

The river winds its way in silver sheen. 

Some arctic sprite, some wood-nymph of the 
north — 

Frost fairy of a land bewitched and still — 
The people of the wild has summoned forth 

To learn her magic and to do her will. 



[34] 



THE REWARD 

When this troubled dream of life (with all it 
threatens) 
Is over and the wretched end is done, 
When the longing and the waiting and the 
sighing 
Are vain as blasted effort, youth-begun, 
When the hurt, the hope, the foolish joy are 
over. 
The grief, the pain, the anguish and despair. 
When the grimy rags of life's ill-fitting gar- 
ment 
Are laid aside for braver garb and fair — 

When the toil, the effort and the futile striv- 
ing, 
The vain resolve, the hard and bitter tears. 
Hapless work long planned (and soon undone 
by others), 
The grim, black nights of haunting doubt 
and fears — 
When the hand of friendship dear is closed in 
anger. 
And dead are loves that glowed with splen- 
did fire — 
Yes, when these are of the past, nor longer 
torture. 
And left behind is Fate's pursuing ire — 

[35] 



Then in this unshackling and portentous mo- 
ment 
When waits my soul at portals of The All, 
Pray, will some one stand in man-made house 
a-weeping ? 
Will some one grieve beside a decent pall? 
Ay ! will some one sob to self man's weak ex- 
cuses ? 
Will some one say, "He tried, though all in 
vain ?" — 
Ah ! if this be so, God knows 'twill hallow part- 
ing, 
And make a garden of a waste of pain. 



[36] 



DAWN 

When the skies are sad and sullen 

(Gray the dawn on tree and tow'r) 
And the drowsy town, reluctant, 

Would forget its waking hour ; 
When the shrinking light comes shvlj:, 

(Of its welcome quite afraid) 
Into rooms where folk are sleeping, 

With the day's beginning made; — 
Courage, all! Take heart. The sunlight 

Lies behind the mist-bound hills, 
And it's coming, surely coming 

To abate man's bitter ills. 



[37] 



STORM AND CALM 

When the sea is calling, calling. 
With its mighty voice appalling, 
While the gale on all is falling 

In the fury of its wrath, 
'Spite the blast, 'gainst all a-beating. 
Far away this sea is greeting 
And with placid blue is meeting 

Tender moonlight's golden path. 



[38] 



THE PRECIOUS DAYS OF YORE 

The tender light of a more gracious day 
Once shone on me, in years less sad and 
worn ; 

Nor charm nor benefit can I repay, 

My only homage is to bow — and mourn. 

Unknown I tread the cold New England sod. 
Repulsed I meet the hard, suspecting gaze; 

In unreality and fear I plod. 

Some beacon seek amid obscuring haze. 

It was not thus in that glad yesterday ; 

Expansively I lived, at friendly call ; 
KSnowing no qualm of stark unrest to stay; 

Blithely I met, and freely gave my all. 

Heavy these feet and cold this heart to-day; 

No glow or trust or freedom do I know, 
A stranger here, and difficult my way. 

The light is gone — enfold shroud of snow. 



[39] 



WINTER'S END 

Yes, the cold March rain is beating 

Hard against my window pane, 

But old Winter's hours are fleeting 

And protesting blasts are vain; 

For the sweet springtime is coming 
And against the glass I'm strumming 
While a boyish tune I'm humming; 
To' repine seems quite insane. 



[40] 



THE FAITH WE NEED. 

Born not to know, 

Only to feel, 
Ours but to sow — 
Humbly we kneel. 

Bravely to look ahead. 
Here where our fathers bled- 
God's is the seal. 



[41] 



BLESSINGS OF THE DAY 

I LIKE to start in the morning, 

When the day is fresh and fair, 
When blithe are the birds a-singing 

And sweet is the boundless air; 
But better I like the evening, 

When home from my work with joy 
I come, in a father's gladness, 

A-greeting my baby boy. 



[42] 



THE MARCH OF AGE 

If I could be as blithe as when a child. 

If I could have the faith of tender years ! 
Then by thd fairest flowers of youth beguiled — 

The world was glad, through eyes undimmed 
by tears. 



[43] 



LIFE'S MOMENT 

Slowly the twelvemonth tides encroach 
And little by little disappears my isle of sand; 
Changeless, eternal tides, ordained from On 

High, 
Asking no word from me, nor yet a sign, 
Giving no reasons and no promises, 
But coming on, unhampered and unurged, 
Unbeckoned and unheld. Resistless in its 

might. 
Derisive of my feeble cry of fear, 
Jeering at childish gestures, vain, 
Gestures born of loneliness and dread. 
This sure advance, which owns sole mastery 
To Him who hath no master and no higher law, 
Surely, little by little closes in. — 
My brief and unmomentous day 
Is almost done, is almost done, 
And I cry out, O God ! 
(Over Thy unfathomable sea) 
"Why hath it not availed?" 



[ 44 ] 



WHERE PEACE ABIDES 

The songful brook pipes blithely through the 
vale, 

Between the silent, white, protecting hills; 
The winding road, beneath a new moon pale, 

Beguiles the traveller — nor prates of ills. 
The glistening bond of yon sequestered lake, 

The filmy clouds against the distant blue! — 
My quickening heart in paean is awake. — 

Eternal values would our lives make true. 



[45] 



WASTE? 

I WONDER why the snowflakes fall, 
Forming a mantle, virgin white. 

Forming a mantle which transforms — 
Hiding the commonplace from sight. 

Alas ! this gift is soon defiled. 

Scorned and trodden by ruthless feet, 

Mixed with the filth — its whiteness lost — 
Spoiled in the grimy city street. 

Ah ! if I knew why this should be 

I'd know the cause of darkness' fears, 

Hold the key of the wasted life. 

Fathom the curse of the ruined years. 



[46] 



SLEEP 

How welcome is the sweet repose of sleep, 
After the strife and turmoil of the day. 

'Tis gold among the little man may keep; 
From toil, release ; to care a blessed stay ! 



[47] 



BETTER NOT 

A CHILD looks out on this marvelous world 

And wonders why 
The people and things are so very large ; 
He'd like to try 
To reconstruct on a smaller scale, 
But the Lilliputian scheme would fail — 
At last he'd sigh. 

You see if the men he cut down by half 

He'd do the same 
By children and even the babies wee, 
Just as they came ; 
If this did work on the grave giraffe, 
Might the bane of the dog be cut in half ?- 
Fie child, for shame! 



[48] 



THE EPISODE OF LIFE 

Just one fertile acre — 
God's gift of life to me — 

I till my field. 
Afar the shadowed span 
Stretches its baffling way — 

In faith I yield. 



[49] 



THE STRANGERS 

My train is rushing through the verdant fields : 
Sequestered cottages, neat farms and glades 
In vitascopic view appear and flit away ; 
And leave me wondering — alone. 

If I but knew the vital need of these, 

Dwellers uncomforted, so near — so far — 

The folk whose homes I visually know, 

But from whose lives I am so far removed! — 

Alas ! If I might know these kin. 

And feel their pain, their need, their hope 

And their redeeming love, not always manifest, 

I could not bear to pass them by unbailed. 

To pass them by for ilk of goods and gold, 

To pass them by — in man's unpromised day. 

This little earthly hour is short — so soon is 

spent — 
Shy Opportunity is quick to heed rebuff; 
Yet would we idle precious time away, 
Pursue vain things, of fleeting consequence, 
And leave to God alone our fellow man — 
When God commanded us to comfort and to 
love. 



[50] 



THE WORK UNDONE 

If in the day I could but do the task 

That I had planned the day and night 
before, 

I feel that man of me would never ask 
A fairer token from our common store. 

And this I think of others, day by day, 

As through the world they go — and grope 
and fall — 
If their despair were only swept away, 

And their intent made clear, how difF'rent 
all! 



[51] 



A MESSAGE TO THE FORTUNATE 

O, WORK ye and pray for the poor to-day, 

And for those in man's distress ; 
For the burdened wife in the want-bound 
strife ; 

The sinner who can't confess ; 
For all who far from a mother's knee 
Have wandered, a mocking world to see. 

Remember, as God doth bless. 



[52] 



THE OTHERS 

In the hour when I'd be gay 
Some thought of the troublous day 
Of brothers doth e'er intrude — 
Of those who cry out for food, 
Of those who are sore bereft, 
Of those who, alas, are left 
To pursue the road alone. 
Of others who must atone 
For deeds that they have not done 
(When fault is of sire or son). 
Of others who writhe in soul — 
Of all toward the shrouded goal. 



[53] 



FAITH 

You must have faith 

To eat your daily bread; 
You must have faith 

To close your eyes in sleep ; 
You must have faith to leave your home to- 
day- 
Yes, faith to go and yet more faith to stay. 

You must have faith 

To love and peer ahead; 
You must have faith 

To help the near and dear; 
You must have faith to take, and e'en to give — 
Ay ! faith to die and far more faith to live. 



[54] 



TWO VIEWS 

Yes, the easy way 
Is to wait a day — 

"Do it to-morrow!" 
But, my friend, beware ; 
Take thou thoughtful care. 

And court not sorrow; 
For it may not be 
For you and for me — 

This far to-morrow. 



[55] 



LIFE'S CLOUDED DAY 

Ah, if I might soar 

Into the Heaven of my ideals ! 
To breathe with joy deep-drawn 

The cool, pure air above — 
Above a world where love is cowed! 

Ah, if I might climb 

The hills of my intent! 
Where I could think untrammeled 
thoughts 

And compass better, fairer deeds, 
Above these doubt-enshrouded vales. 

Yes, sweet such privilege; 

But as it is not mine, 
I fain would work and trust and hope, 

And looking upward but await 
The lifting of the drifting earthly mists. 



[56] 



THE REVISITATION 

A SAD-EYED stranger 

Stood beside my bed, 

And with gaunt arms and bony hands 

Made sign of benediction and of plea: 

For my best weal he prayed, 

And for my higher flight. 

When at the end I asked 

Of his identity, he looked at me, 

A look of pity and of tenderness. 

"I am the image of thy youth," he said, 

"The incarnation of thy early hopes ; 

And I am risen to-night 

To touch thee, lest thou fail. 

To speak to thee of God's neglected boon." 



[57] 



IDLE WISHES 

I WISH that I were clever! — 

Many things I'd surely do — 
Responsive, optimistic, 

Likewise never, never "blue." 
I wish that I were handsome 

And possessed of nimble wit. 
From Quito to Fashoda 

Could in conversation flit. 

I wish I had the figure 

Of Apollo at his best. 
And such repose of manner 

As to lull the wasps to rest; 
Resourceful as a room-clerk, 

Metropolitan and bland, 
Chesterfieldianly polished, 

Easy, cordial, suave and grand. 

I wish that I were graceful. 

Through this maze-like world could 
glide. 
Unconsciously important. 

Held in awe where I reside; 
Ne'er hot, excited, worried. 

Never anxious, vexed or ill. 
Going my way serenely. 

Yet retaining man's good-will. 

[58] 



I'd have persuasive powers, 

In forensic lists would shine, 
Enjoy life as a circus 

Is enjoyed by children mine. — 
Sheer waste of time to worry, 

Hypocritical to sham ; 
I'll have to earn my fodder 

Just exactly as I am. 



[59] 



THE DAWN OF A CITY DAY 

The morning is cold and dark, 

Low, clouded skies frown down; 
A cheerless, dour day ahead 

For overhandled town. 
So if some brave word of hope 

Springs from a struggling soul, 
Pray, greet it with thanks and joy- 

'Twill speed us toward our goal. 



[60] 



THE CALL OF TOIL 

I MUST thrust aside allurements 

Of a past so dear to me; 
I must gather all my forces, 

Only straight ahead to see: 
For the city's work is calling, 

And the call is rife with need — 
Though I pause, and shrink from conflict, 

I must pay the worker's heed. 



[61] 



AS WE SHOULD LOOK 

Forget thyself today, 

Deep in a world of need ; 
Bravely advance to-day, 

Helping in thought and deed 
Thy brothers' woe in mind. 

Thy brother's good at heart ; 
Here, with a chance, to-day. 

Here but to do — and part. 



[62] 



ABIDING THINGS 

There are only two things of worth, My Boy, 

In the light of the sun above ; 
The first is the Service ye give with Joy, 

And the second, the Boon of Love. 



[63] 



THE ANSWER 

I STOOD before the everlasting hills 

And of them asked this question, all too 
hard : — 
"Why should mankind be born to bitter ills 

Which all his fairer, heartfelt work retard? 
Why should he for each ounce of pleasure 
known 

Pay double, treble — and then pay again? — 
Why will of circumstance, and ne'er his own? 

Why struggle onward but to join the slain?" 

The everlasting hills replied with grace: 
"Thou wouldst know all and leave to God to 
feel. 
Wot'st not that it were meet for thee to face 
Thy pain and sacrifice, to hope and kneel? 
And know that it were well, and being quick 
Know thy good brothers' woe, and knowing 
share. 
Thou love and service hast been told to pick 
From bounty's basket, 'neath the light of 
prayer." 



[64] 



AMBITION 

Mirage of fame enticed, 

While simple ways grew stale ; 
Work for the end sufficed — 

Our only dread, to fail. 

Scarce can we now discern 

This thing that once was fair. 

Ah ! could we but return 

To moments free from care! 



[65] 



TOWARD BETTER LIGHT 

How to be prominent, 
How to be rich, 
How to gain power and fame ; 
How to be politic 

(Playing with pitch), 
How to emblazon a name: 
These are the questions we ponder to-day, 
And high is the price we're ready to pay — 
While the devil is watching our game. 

How to be tolerant, 
Faithful and brave. 
How to be humble and sane; 
Guiltless of boastfulness. 
Eager to save. 
Living — with heart to abstain ! 
Yes, such is the strength for which we should 

pray, 
Guarding our fatal misfortune to stray — 
And serene before pleasure or pain. 



[66] 



TEMERITY 

Shyly the snowflake strays from cloud to 
earth ; 
The raindrops on the thirsty ground de- 
scend ; 
Glad morning's dew scarce lives beyond its 
birth- 
All earthly things to desolation tend. 

Yet would I vainly boast of hoarded trove ; 

Yet would I blindly plan to-morrow's deed ; 
Yet would I dare to love — earth-budded love — 

While Death is whisp'ring of the unknown 
meed. 



[67] 



IN DOUBT 

If I but knew the bravest, wisest course to 
choose 

And pausing not for praise or blame, no matter 
whose. 

Did choose and act, unerringly — nor hesi- 
tate, 

Knowing a given course were best — and not too 
late, 

Working consistently, to downborne lives up- 
lift: 

Thus would I save this precious, evanescent 
gift. 

This gift possessed by man for but a fleeting 
day, 

This gift called Time — which pauses on its 
winged way. 



[68] 



WINTER THOUGHTS 

The bare, brown fields all life deny ; 
Naked the trees against the sky, 
Against a drab and sullen sky. 
A mist arises from the earth — 
Befitting kin of chill and dearth — 
Unsounded is the note of birth. 

'Twas Summer not so long ago; 
Summer with all its gorgeous show — 
Charms that lovers and children know. 
Where now are blossoms, birds, and bees, 
Frogs and locusts and leafy trees? 
Winds a-whispering to the seas? 

Gone is the green and gone the flower, 
The haunting fragrance of the bower, 
The cooling sweetness of the shower. 
Alas ! the year is growing old. 
The searching winds blow bitter cold. 
We march with Winter toward the mould. 



[69] 



A FEW YEARS MORE 

God! I fain would ask a few years more — 
A few years more, in which to learn and 
build, 
A few years more in which to love and 

grow: 
In Thy great goodness, Gracious Lord, 
bestow. 
That I may join the manumitted guild 
Of tliose who humbly wait without Thy door 
And ask that they may work for Thee 
And for Thy children. 
And know mankind anew 
In that, at last, they serve. 



[70] 



USEFULNESS 

The selfish life brings final discontent; 

Its principle, in work or play, is wrong: 
For justice will not give unfair assent, 

That benefits come only to the strong. 

There is no lasting recompense save one; 
The quick goodwill of those who tread the 
road 
(The footworn road which selfish men would 
shun) 
For help to brothers, with a common load. 



[71] 



EQUITY 

Turning over in your mind 

What the other fellow did, 

And what he said and even what he 
thought, 
Be not envious or blind 

Toward the good the fellow hid — 

The things that only come to light 
when sought. 

When you credit self with good — 
Be it motive, wish or deed — 

Remember, others show a spirit fair; 
If you only understood. 

With a brother's thought of need! 

Pray speed the day when man can 
love and share. 



[72] 



THE WELCOME CHANGE 

See! the April rain is falling; 
To my heart it's clearly calling; 
Thus would I forget the galling 

Of Winter's heavy chains. 
For the chimes of Spring are ringing; 
In response, a song I'm singing — 
Yes, rejoicing at the bringing 

Of freedom, by the rains. 



[73] 



THE BETTER WAY 

Chiefly is life made up of small affairs, 
Of petty disappointments and of stings, 
Of countless nettling and disturbing things- 
With now and then the heavy blow 
Of some affliction staggering. 

As ready pupils in a school should we 
Surely advance in learning every day. 
Compass some better, higher, fairer way 
To meet the test of daily life — 
To work and hope and love and live. 



[74] 



A LOWLY PRAYER 

Peay give us work to-day — 
Work to help the world along; 
Bless our lips, this day, with song; 
Make us tender, true and strong: 
Thus, to-day at least, deserve 
Blessed gifts — to love, to serve: 
May we neither halt nor swerve — 
Pray give us work to-day. 



[75] 



THE CHILD 

I LOVE the murmur of the rill 

Which wanders down the wooded hill; 

I love the droning of the bees ; 

The winds a-whisp'ring to the trees ; 

I love the ocean's changing voice, 

And hear, at dawn, the birds rejoice. 

But of earth's music best to me 

(And glad am I that it should be) 

Is sound of children's prattle dear. 

And laughter gay, unchecked by fear: 

All! this is best of life's delight — 

These children, knowing naught of blight, 

These children who, thank God, command 

The best we know of heart or hand. 



[76] 



A BENEFIT OF NIGHT 

Though God is kind to me in many things — 

In love, in friendship, health and creature 
ease. 

In boon of body, mind and soul — far, far be- 
yond 

My worth — one gift o'ershadowing 

He gives, with Kingly hand. 

Heed well, 'tis this great privilege: 

The peace, the soul-expanding boon 

Of watching over children mine — 

My inmost own — sent from On High. 

Of watching over them, in fatherhood. 

While wander they, full-faithed. 

In God's mysterious, engardened land of sleep. 



[77] 



DIURNAL BOUNTY 

Sweet is the tender beauty of the morn, 
And glad the fullness of the noonday sun ; 

The evening pensive, when the stars are born, 
And blest the night as heavenly rest begun. 



[78] 



f^CV '3 1912 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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